Smelly Alley businesses are open, even if one exit remains closed, a month after a fire that devastated a neighbouring shop in Reading town centre.
Officially known as Union Street, the Friar Street entrance was closed after a fire in the office space above the CMart Asian supermarket on Friday, May 26. It caused water, smoke and electrical damage to neighbouring businesses.
Almost all of the businesses in Union Street are open as usual, including phone repair shops, beauticians and craft beer and cheese shop The Grumpy Goat.
Many of these businesses have been impacted by the lack of passing trade, Union Food and Wine and the Ever Beauty Salon are shut due to the cordon in place.
A third business, Mystic Lounge Tattoo and Piercing Studio, has relocated to Cheapside.
Tattoo artist Melanie Morningstar said her business partner was able to secure the temporary location.
“Because we’re all self-employed, we didn’t want to have our staff unemployed,” she explained. “Our priority was to get up and running as soon as possible.
“We were lucky to find this location for now, because we don’t know realistically when exactly when we’re going to be able to go back to the other one.”
They relocated in just three days.
“We just have to start doing work in it to make it fit, we need to redo the flooring, it’s 100 per cent safe to go in, it’s just a matter of decorating,” she said of their Friar Street location.
“It’s mostly smoke and water damage, the fire didn’t get to our property. We’re just trying to get back in as soon as possible to be honest.
“Hopefully not less than a couple of months but not too long either.”
In Union Street, business owners are frustrated that part of the street remains closed.
Khuran Shehzad of F 4 Fones fears that he may have to close as footfall in Union Street has fallen dramatically: “I can understand if the building is unsafe, but I don’t understand why the council cannot simply board it up, give a metre space so people can get through so our businesses are not affected.
“If the building has to be rebuilt, this could be going on for a year. I do not think we can survive in this environment. We have to pay rent.
“How am I going to raise that money when I have no customers? There are going to be businesses winding up, altogether.”
Mr Shezhad was one of 17 business owners to write to Matt Rodda, the Labour MP for Reading East to lobby for the entrance to be opened as soon as possible.
The letter states: “Please could you help us in solving this situation and getting the access from Friar Street into Union Street opened as soon as possible, as it is the question of survivability of not only the businesses but the households that are attached to the businesses now.
“For most of the businesses this is the only stream of income for their household. We would appreciate any help that you can provide.”
The entrance remains closed due to electricity isolation and structural survey work that needs to take place.
A Reading Borough Council official said public safety is a priority, and while most of Union Street is open for business, barriers remain at the Friar Street entrance to prevent injury from falling and loose debris from the buildings that were affected most by the fire.
A spokesperson from SSEN Distribution said: “Our engineers safely and successfully completed the initial request to isolate specific power supplies at this location last Thursday; following on from this, we have now been asked to isolate two additional supplies and we are currently working with the individual property owners to carry out the works.”
